The present invention is directed towards the field of communication devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to handsets for mobile communication systems.
Presently, wireless communication devices and networks are based on various technical standards for sending and receiving radio signals. Wireless communication devices can communicate within a network only if they are in the vicinity of a base station that uses a standard supported by the communication devices. A number of communication protocols are currently used for wireless communication. For example, Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), a “narrowband” radio frequency (RF) signal and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), a “wideband” frequency (RF) signal under the IMT-2000 protocol are in widespread use. Currently, communication devices designed to operate with one of these protocols, for example with GSM, cannot operate with the other protocol, for example, WCDMA.
To operate with both narrowband and wideband signals, a communication device needs a receiver having electronic circuits capable of processing both the narrowband and wideband signals. However, such communication device would have increased costs due to duplicative component requirements and reduced mobility due to bulkiness of the duplicative components. This is because such communication device would need all the components required to support both the narrowband and wideband signals. There remains a need for a device and techniques to support both wideband and narrowband communication protocols while reducing component requirements.